New contract, pay approved for Fort Smith Public School superintendent

The Fort Smith Public Schools Board of Education voted to extend the superintendent contract for Dr. Terry Morawski by two years at a called board meeting Monday (March 28). The contract also sets his pay at almost $250,000 a year.

Morwaski’s original contract was approved Nov. 30, 2020. That contract was for Dec. 31, 2020, to June 2023. The new contract will continue that time period through June 30, 2025.  The contract sets compensation at $246,445.61 annually, which “constitutes an increase equal to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the South as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor for the February 2022 published 12-month period.”

“I will say quickly that it was a very complimentary session to Dr. Morawski, and we’re all very pleased,” School Board President Susan McFerran said of Morawski’s review, which occurred in executive session.

Morawski was an applicant for the Rogers Public Schools superintendent position earlier this year, according to Ashley Siwiec, RPS communications director. He was not one of the three finalists named the first of March. Morawski applied for the superintendent position with Rogers Public Schools after receiving an invitation from the search firm to apply, said Zena Featherston Marshall, executive director of communications and community partnerships for FSPS.

“In the invitation, the firm said Morawski’s name was raised as part of the community input process to select their new superintendent,” she said.

Marshall said Morawski has not applied for any other jobs while Fort Smith’s superintendent.

Morawski replaced former superintendent Dr. Doug Brubaker who resigned in 2020 to take the position of superintendent for the Texarkana, Texas, Independent School District. At the time, Morawski was the district’s deputy superintendent, a position he held since 2018. He has worked in public education for more than 20 years.

During that time, he has held a variety of roles, including deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent, chief operations officer and director, according to Zena Featherston Marshall, FSPS executive director of communications and community partnerships. He has an education doctorate degree in kindergarten through 12th grade educational leadership from Dallas Baptist University.

In 2019, he earned a Level 1 Certification as a curriculum auditor. He also completed the National Aspiring Superintendent’s Academy through the American Association of School Administrators in February 2020.